I
definitely don’t want to devalue the work of those developers – most
premium plugins are absolutely worth the cost, and developers deserve to
be rewarded for the work they put into plugins.

But…sometimes
that’s not an option, and you need something free! If you find yourself
in that situation, keep reading for some great free alternatives to some
of the best premium WordPress plugins.

What I’m Doing In This Post

In this
post, I’m going to look at 9+ premium plugins (or sometimes a pair of
premium plugins that offer similar functionality). I’ll tell you why I
think the plugin(s) is so popular. Then, I’ll try to give you the free
alternative that best approximates the functionality in the original plugin.

Note – I’m not guaranteeing a perfect 1:1 swap. That would be impossible.

But I am trying to find free solutions that can at least work almost as well, even if they don’t capture the full feature list of the original plugin.

Before I get started, here’s a quick table outlining your options. Or, you can keep reading for even more detail:

1. Slider Revolution and Layer Slider

Overview

Slider
Revolution and Layer Slider are two massively popular slider plugins for
sale at Code Canyon. In fact, the two rank second and fourth,
respectively, on the best-selling plugins of all time at Code Canyon.
Combined, they have almost 300,000sales.

Part
of their popularity has to do with the fact that the two are bundled
with a huge number of themes. But, that doesn’t change the fact that
there are hundreds of thousands of users who love these two premium
plugins.

Slider Revolution and Layer Slider Core Features

Here’s what I think the main advantages of Slider Revolution and Layer Slider are:

Visual editors that let you build gorgeous sliders without needing to know how to code

Cool animation effects

Pre-built templates

Responsive design so sliders look great on all devices

Smart Slider Pros

Smart
Slider is a great Slider Revolution alternative because it not only
offers many of the premium features in its free version, but I also
think the Smart Slider interface is just plain better anyway.

Here’s what you get with Smart Slider:

Visual slide builder that functions similarly to a page builder

Slide library with pre-made slide designs

Dynamic slides based on WordPress posts

Neat animations

Responsive design plus the ability to enable responsive previews right from the slide builder interface

Smart Slider Cons

While I
think the free version of Smart Slider is incredibly feature rich (and
its amazing reviews mean I’m not the only one), there are a few things
you still might miss:

2. VaultPress / Jetpack Premium

Overview

While there are plenty of Jetpack premium features, I’m most interested in VaultPress for this alternative.

VaultPress
creates automatic backups of your WordPress site and automatically
stores those backups in an offsite “vault”. Beyond that, it makes it
easy to migrate or restore your site, as well as adding security
features in the form of scanning and file repairs.

VaultPress Core Features

VaultPress’
main draw is that it puts a huge chunk of your WordPress site’s
maintenance on autopilot. Backups and security are massively important,
and VaultPress automates much of those processes.

UpdraftPlus Pros

I like
UpdraftPlus as a VaultPress alternative because it also lets you
automate your backups…but for free. That is, you can create a backup
schedule and UpdraftPlus will automatically execute it.

While the
free version doesn’t provide its own cloud backup storage, you can
easily back up directly to third-party cloud services like:

Dropbox

Google Drive

Amazon S3

Also, UpdraftPlus can help you restore your site from any of the backups it creates.

UpdraftPlus Cons

There are still some things the free version of VaultPress doesn’t do:

The free version doesn’t let you migrate your site, though it’s not too difficult to do manually

3. Envira Gallery

Overview

Part of Syed Balkhi’s WordPress empire, Envira Gallery is a popular WordPress gallery plugin.
While it does have a free version, the free version is fairly limited
in comparison to the various tiers of Envira Gallery Pro.

Envira Gallery Core Features

At this
point, I’ve used a large number of WordPress gallery plugins and I think
the benefits of Envira Gallery come down to these:

Well-designed interface that’s easy for beginners and advanced webmasters to use

Good-looking gallery templates

Shortcodes so that you can easily insert galleries anywhere on your site.

In the higher Pro tiers, it has tons of advanced features for developers

While
there are a number of other helpful features with niche uses, I think
those are the core drivers behind Envira Gallery’s success.

Modula Gallery Pros

I like
Modula Gallery as a free Envira Gallery alternative because it best
approximates Envira Gallery’s super intuitive, easy to use interface.

Even in the free version, Modula Gallery can go toe-to-toe with Envira Gallery’s interface.

Plus,
Modula Gallery creates equally beautiful galleries and has a more
affordable premium option (if you do decide to go the premium route).

Modula Gallery Cons

The free
version of Modula Gallery is great for creating regular galleries, but
don’t expect it to match the more advanced features of Envira Gallery
Pro.

I’m talking about things like:

WooCommerce add-on

Lightroom add-on

Etc.

Like I said, Modula Gallery Pro does offer many of these features for a lower price tag, but this post is about free solutions!

4. Divi

Overview

Ok, Divi
is technically a WordPress theme…so I’m cheating a bit here. I fully
recognize that! But, Divi is also massively popular, so I’m sure there
are plenty of people looking for a free Divi alternative.

Divi Core Features

Divi is so
popular because it makes it easy for people to build a beautiful
website without needing to know any code. It does that by:

Having a massive third-party community that makes it easy to find code snippets, add-ons, and help

Page Builder Framework + Elementor Pros

There are two parts to Divi:

The flexible theme

The Divi Builder

So if you want to approximate the Divi Theme’s functionality with free tools, you’re going to also need two parts.

To cover the theme part, I recommend Page Builder Framework. It’s a lightweight theme designed to function as the foundation for WordPress page builders.

To replace the Divi Builder with a free tool, I like Elementor. The free version of Elementor doesn’t have everything you need from the Divi Builder, but it’s about as close as you’ll get.

Page Builder Framework + Elementor Cons

Many of
these problems can be solved by purchasing the Pro version of Elementor
(which still comes out cheaper than Divi). But…that’s cheating. So
here’s what you’ll miss if you go the 100% free route:

No
dynamic post grids to showcase your latest posts on the homepage. You’ll
have to use the normal blog index page or find another way to showcase
your latest posts on your homepage.

A limited set of elements in general. The free version of Elementor just doesn’t compete with Divi Builder on that front.

How
closely theme and builder are linked. While Page Builder Framework is
designed to work well with Elementor, it’s still not like Divi where
both products were built by the same team specifically to work with each other.

6. Visual Composer

Overview

Visual
Composer is the best-selling plugin of all time at Code Canyon. In
addition to being a nice page builder in its own right, Visual
Composer’s popularity has also spawned a massive industry of third-party
add-ons.

Visual Composer Core Features

Ok,
there’s no denying that part of Visual Composer’s success is the fact
that, like Slider Revolution, it’s bundled with a ton of themes sold at
ThemeForest.

But that doesn’t change the fact that there are huge numbers of people using Visual Composer. Here’s why I think people love it:

It’s a visual drag and drop page builder

You don’t need to know any code to build a beautiful page

Tons of other plugins integrate into Visual Composer

There’s a huge third-party extension marketplace

Elementor Pros

I like
Elementor as a Visual Composer alternative because it’s a visual page
builder that’s a joy to use. It also has the best free version of any
page builder, in my opinion.

You’ll be able to:

Drag and drop elements to build your design

Build full pages

Design pages from pre-made templates

Edit elements to create a truly custom page

Elementor Cons

Unfortunately,
the one thing that Elementor can’t replicate is the huge community of
third-party add-ons. If you like having access to those add-ons, you
might be disappointed by parts of Elementor.

Additionally, the
free version of Elementor has a comparatively limited element list,
though you can remedy this by purchasing Elementor Pro.

8. Social Warfare / Easy Social Share Buttons

Overview

Social Warfare and Easy Social Share Buttons are two popular WordPress social sharing plugins.
Unfortunately, though, Easy Social Share Buttons doesn’t offer a free
version, and Social Warfare’s free version is incredibly limited.

Social Warfare / Easy Social Share Buttons Core Features

Here’s why I think people like these two social share plugins:

Stylish social share button designs

They don’t slow down your site

Accurate share counts

Both
also offer smaller features that some webmasters find helpful – but
those three are the core features I’ll try to replicate with my free
solution.

Kiwi Social Share Pros

I like
Kiwi Social Share as a free Easy Social Share Buttons and Social Warfare
alternative because it meets all those core features…for free!

You
can display stylish icons for all of the popular social networks. The
free version includes four different skins for you to choose from, and
you can also choose where to position your buttons.

Additionally, you can toggle on or off share counts as needed.

Kiwi Social Share Cons

I don’t
think you’ll miss any core features, but you might find yourself missing
out on some of the more niche features offered by the two plugins.

A few examples of features that you’ll no longer have access to:

Dedicated Pinterest images

Minimum share counts in order to display share counts

Click-to-Tweet

Top social posts list

After share actions

Still, if you just want quality social share buttons, Kiwi Social Share is a solid free alternative.

9. OptinMonster / Thrive Leads

Overview

If you
want to build an email list on WordPress, two of the most popular list
building plugins/tools are OptinMonster and Thrive Leads. Both are great
tools that give you a bunch of different ways to grow your list.

But…both are pricey, especially when it comes to OptinMonster.

OptinMonster and Thrive Leads Core Features

Here’s why OptinMonster and Thrive Leads are so effective:

They give you a variety of different opt-in form types

You can easily offer content upgrades and lead magnets

Both have intuitive, WYSIWYG form builders

Both offer A/B testing

Sumo Pros

If you want a free Thrive Leads or OptinMonster alternative, Sumo is about as good as you’re going to get.

Like OptinMonster and Thrive Leads, it lets you:

Create a variety of different form types

Use a form builder (though it’s not quite as flexible)

Deliver content upgrades (that Sumo will host for you)

Sumo Cons

As I mentioned, one thing that you might miss is how flexible OptinMonster and Thrive Leads’ form builders are.

Additionally,
the free Sumo plan requires that you display Sumo branding on all of
your opt-ins, which may or may not be a dealbreaker.

Wrapping Things Up

I hope you enjoyed these free alternatives for popular WordPress plugins! Again, you can’t always get the exact same functionality in a free plugin. But oftentimes, you can get pretty close.

If you know of a great free alternative to a plugin that wasn’t on my list, I’d love if you shared it with me in the comments!

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